09/13/2013

Accompanied by the tag line "hard facts and hard humor about a hard way of life," this newly resurfaced public access tv short documentary from 1982 interviews Manhattan's diverse male street hustler population about their stories and struggles. Created by Robert Burden and Dictelio Cepeda.

In 1981 Patrick was contacted by John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. John had heard about Patrick's music from the legendary Sylvester and proposed he write music for his films. Patrick jumped on this offer and sent reels of his college compositions from the 70s to John in LA. Coletti then used a variable speed oscillator to adjust the pitch and speed of Patrick's songs in-sync with the film scene.

For Patrick's 63rd birthday, Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem are presenting a glimpse into the instrumental world of a young genius. These recordings shine a new light on the experimental side of a disco legend who was taken too soon. All proceeds from "School Daze" will be donated to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, who have been committed to ending the pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV since 1982.

"School Daze" is a collection of Cowley's instrumental songs recorded between 1973 and 1981 found in the Fox Studio vaults. Influenced by Tomita, Wendy Carlos and Giorgio Moroder, Patrick forged an electronic sound from his collection of synthesizers, modified guitars and self-constructed equipment.

Featuring over 80 minutes of music, this compilation contains soundtrack music from two Fox Studio films, "Muscle Up" and "School Daze", never before released on vinyl.

A gorgeously-animated infomercial highlighting the horrors of factory farming with nary a bit of branding until the very end and a rendition of "Pure Imagination" from Willy and the Wonka Factory sung by Fiona Apple is the most quality bit of advertising you'll see today.

In a dystopian fantasy world, all food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. Scarecrows have been displaced from their traditional role of protecting food, and are now servants to the crows and their evil plans to dominate the food system. Dreaming of something better, a lone scarecrow sets out to provide an alternative to the unsustainable processed food from the factory.

Watch and think twice about where your next meal comes from, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Australian Capital Territory, essentially Australia's equivalent to Washington DC, is set to legalize same-sex marriage by the end of the year, becoming the first territory in the country to do so. The Guardian reports that ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher (pictured right) expects the marriage equality bill to pass and to be replicated across the country in the near future.

The legislation is set to be an early test for the prime minister elect, Tony Abbott (pictured below), who has consistently opposed same-sex marriage but has held out the prospect of a vote on the issue at some time in the future.

Gallagher told Guardian Australia that she didn't expect the Coalition to intervene to prevent gay marriage in the ACT.

"We've been pretty clear on this issue for some time now and there's overwhelming community support for this," she said.

"Any intervention won't be easy and we certainly don't want to be the first test of the new Senate. I think opposition to this has softened within politics in acknowledgment of the fact that the community has shifted its view in favor." [...]

A repeal of ACT marriage equality would have to pass both houses of the federal parliament, presenting a potentially tricky challenge for the Abbott government.

Gallagher said that she expected the ACT's stance on marriage equality to be replicated across Australia.

"I can see Tasmania is making a good effort in this area but we will be the first," she said. "I would expect that something will be put to the federal parliament in this term. The Labor party has led this debate nationally and I expect more and more people to support it. We have waited long enough for this."

Meanwhile, opposition forces have mobilized. Yesterday, the Australian Christian Lobby pressured the federal Labor party not to introduce any bills related to same-sex marriage.

"Any analysis of [the] election must take into account that this issue was front and centre of Labor's campaign but failed to attract votes amongst the broader Australian community," said Lyle Shelton, managing director of the ACL.

Tony Abbott, who defeated pro-equality Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in this month's elections, has brushed aside gay marriage as the "fashion of the moment."

In a wide-ranging interview with Macleans, Cher reveals that she got an invitation to perform in Russia at the Sochi Games and turned it down:

I can’t name names but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I’d like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show. I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there. He said the Russian people don’t feel the way the government does.

She adds that she relates to people on the fringes because of the way she and Sonny Bono were treated:

People hated Sonny and I in the early days because we looked and acted so different. Sonny was always getting into fights—people would called him “fag” and he’d get his nose broken—only because we were dressing different. And these were our street clothes! You can’t forget that. We tried getting on TV but the backlash against the networks was so bad, they wouldn’t invite us back.